Missouri Hickories
Shagbark hickory is one of the eight hickory species found in Missouri. It is named for the light gray bark that separates into thin plates that curl away from the tree, and is most common hickory found in the northern half of Missouri.
Hickory wood is used in the production of charcoal, furniture and wall paneling, and it's also an important source of food for wildlife.
While the wood of white oak may be best suited for barrel staves the wood of hickory trees seems destined to form the handles for many of our tools.
Its more savory use, however, is cooking and smoking meats. The smell of barbecue on a warm summer evening is an unmistakable delight, and more often than not hickory wood provides the heat, smoke and flavor.
Hickory is an important part of Missouri's oak-hickory forest. Eight species of hickory are found in Missouri,. We know that numerous species of hickory were also in the ancient forest of Europe, northern Africa, Asia and North America before the Ice Age.
Many hickory species have disappeared and today there remain 17 species worldwide. There are two each in mainland China and Mexico. The other 15 are found in the central hardwood forest of the eastern and southern United States and Canada.
Hickory nuts are an important food for many species of wildlife.
Hickory is one of the most common woods in everyday use. It is heavy, hard, strong and impact resistant. It is the preferred wood for striking-tool handles such as axes, picks, hammers and hatchets. Early settlers used hickory in the hubs, rims and spokes of wagon wheels. Besides its use in handles, better grades of hickory are used today in furniture and wall paneling.
Hickory nuts are important food for many species of wildlife. Squirrels, turkeys and ducks all feed on the nuts, which are often preferred over acorns.
Hickories are divided into two major groups: the pecan hickories and the true hickories. True hickories have mostly five to seven leaflets with a large egg-shaped bud at the end of each twig. Pecan hickories have more than seven sickle-shaped leaflets and an elongated, flattened terminal bud.
In Missouri, pecan, bitternut and water hickory are members of the pecan hickory group. Shagbark, shellbark, mockernut, pignut and black hickory are members of the true hickories.
Pecan Hickories
Key ID Features: Sickle-shaped leaflets; smooth oblong nut.
Pecan (Carya illinoensis) is a favorite nut tree of Missourians. Typically a southern species, pecan once grew only in the southeastern part of the state. It is thought that Native Americans cultivated this tree father north and helped spread it. Pecans with large, thin-shelled nuts are now grown in commercial orchards.
Pecan thrives in the deep, moist soils of river bottoms and at the base of protected slopes. Its leaves are 12 to 20 inches long with 9 to 17 leaflets. The nut is oblong, one to two inches long and covered with a thin husk. The twigs are reddish-brown with large orange-brown dots. Pecan bark is reddish-brown and deeply furrowed, becoming scaly or platelike on old trees.
Key ID Features: Bright yellow buds; smooth light gray bark.
Bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis) is common throughout Missouri. It grows best where the soil has the most moisture, such as along streams. Its common name refers to the bitter taste of the nut. The nut is about one inch in diameter and covered with a thin husk.
The leaves of the bitternut hickory are 6 to 10 inches long with 7 to 9 leaflets. The bark is light gray and smooth on young trees, becoming shallowly furrowed with thin interlacing ridges when older. The buds are large and are bright yellow in color. The smooth gray bark and bright yellow buds make this an easy hickory to identify.
Key ID Features: Site ( found only in the swamps of southeast Missouri); flattened out.
Water hickory (Carya aquatica) is an uncommon hickory found only in the swamps of the Bootheel area of southeast Missouri. The ground on which water hickory grows is often under water during part of the year. Sometimes called bitter pecan, the bitter nuts are consumed by ducks and other wildlife. The nut has a flat oblong shape with a thin husk.
The leaves are 8 to 18 inches long with 7 to 13 large leaflets. The leaves are similar to pecan, to which water hickory is closely related. The bark is shaggy on old trees with long, platelike red-tinged scales.
True Hickories
Key ID Features: Shaggy bark; leaf with five leaflets.
Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) is the most common hickory north of the Missouri River. Although it grows best of bottomland soils, it also can be found throughout the state on dry upland sites.
The leaves are 8 to 14 inches long with 5 leaflets. The nut is 1 to 2.5 inches in diameter in a husk one-quarter to one-half inch thick. The nutmeat is sweet with good flavor. Shag bark hickory is named for the characteristic light gray bark that separates into thin plates that curl away from the tree at both ends.
Key ID Features: Shaggy bark; very large leaves with seven leaflets, orange twigs.
Shellbark hickory (Carya laciniosa) Shellbark hickory, sometimes called big shagbark hickory, is the largest of the true hickories. Shellbark hickory is also found in the fertile bottomland soils along rivers and streams. It occurs throughout most of Missouri with the exception of the Ozarks.
The leaves are 12 to 24 inches long with 7 leaflets. The nut is 1.5 to 2.5 inches in diameter with a husk up to one-half-inch thick. The twigs are stout, orange-brown and usually hairy. The bark of this species is similar to shagbark hickory. Shellbark hickory can be distinguished from shagbark hickory by the large leaves, greater number of leaflets, large nuts and orange twigs.
Key ID Features: Hairy leaf axis; leaves very aromatic when crushed; egg-shaped terminal bud.
Mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa) makes its best growth on fertile, well-drained soils, although mockernut can also be found on dry ridgetops along with white oak, post oak, shagbark and pignut hickory. It is most common south of the Missouri river.
The leaves are 8 to 15 inches long with 7 to 9 leaflets. The nut is 1.5 to 2 inches long and elliptical with a thick husk. The stout twigs have a large egg-shaped terminal bud. The outer bud scales are shed early in the fall to reveal the velvety yellow to tan inner scales. The bark is gray and irregularly furrowed. The large, light-colored terminal bud is a distinguishing characteristic of this species.
Key ID Features: Usually five leaflets; pear-shaped nut; usually found on dry upland sites.
Pignut hickory (Carya glabra) is a medium-sized tree. It mostly grows in the eastern Ozarks on dry upland soils. However, it can be found scattered throughout southern Missouri and in a few counties just north of the Missouri River.
The leaves are 8 to 12 inches long with mostly 5 leaflets. The nut is pear-shaped, about one to two inches long, with a thin husk. The bark is smooth and gray when the tree is young. As the tree matures, the bark separates into loose, scalelike plates.
Key ID Features: Bright yellow buds; smooth light gray bark.
Bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis) is common throughout Missouri. It grows best where the soil has the most moisture, such as along streams. Its common name refers to the bitter taste of the nut. The nut is about one inch in diameter and covered with a thin husk.
The leaves of the bitternut hickory are 6 to 10 inches long with 7 to 9 leaflets. The bark is light gray and smooth on young trees, becoming shallowly furrowed with thin interlacing ridges when older. The buds are large and are bright yellow in color. The smooth gray bark and bright yellow buds make this an easy hickory to identify.
Key ID Features: Yellow dots on buds; seven leaflets; usually found on dry uplands.
Black hickory (Carya texana) is a small tree. It grows were fertility is low and is usually considered an indicator of poor soil. Black hickory is wide spread south of the Missouri River.
The leaves are 8 to 14 inches long, usually with 7 leaflets. The nut is pear-shaped, 1.25 to 1.75 inches long, with a thin husk. The twig tapers abruptly to the terminal bud. The terminal bud has fuzzy, rust-colored scales with minute yellow dots. The bark is dark gray with deep furrows. Black hickory can be distinguished from pignut by greater number of leaflets, the tapering twig and the yellow dots on the bud.
